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Lessons learned from response to H1N1 pandemic
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Government agencies and physicians will implement what they have learned from their efforts to counter the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic into future preparations, Stephen C. Redd, MD, RADM, of the CDC, said during a presentation.
Redd said the CDC generated plans four years ago to deal with a potential pandemic, but H1N1 was not the type of pandemic it had anticipated. The CDC and other organizations prepared for a pandemic that would originate outside of the country and would provide a sufficient body of data before it hit the United States. However, H1N1 did not spread in this manner, and the CDC had to alter its strategy.
The CDC’s goal was reducing illness and death while also minimizing the societal effect. Although the CDC issued guidelines based on the available information, vaccination was at the heart of the response, according to Redd. He said that state, local and federal governments, as well as health care agencies and physicians, collaborated to create, test and distribute a vaccine as quickly as possible. Furthermore, Redd said the CDC held many press conferences and media briefings to educate the public and physicians about the importance of vaccination as the best preventive measure.
Redd also said that the response to the H1N1 pandemic by health officials was enormous despite a lack of information but noted that the CDC has gained insight from the experience.
“We needed to make decisions in a timely fashion, and sometimes, waiting for additional analysis is a decision to not do something, so we learned to deal with uncertainty. We really had to be humble about what we knew and recognize that we might need to change if new information became available,” Redd said.
Global surveillance, risk assessment, evaluation of programs instituted during the pandemic and data on vaccine efficacy are also important areas that the CDC plans to explore and consider when producing future response plans, Redd said. – by Melissa Foster
Redd SC. #2701. Presented at: 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology; Feb. 26-March 2, 2010; New Orleans.
Too many of our patients did not receive the H1N1 vaccine, and as asthma specialists, we must promote H1N1 vaccination, especially for our patients with persistent asthma. In addition, we must be available to appropriately evaluate patients with egg allergy and provide them with the opportunity to receive the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine.
–Gary S. Rachelefsky, MD
Infectious
Diseases in Children Editorial Board